Did You Know That The Vast Majority of Calico Cats Are Female?, And That Calico is A Color and Not a Breed?

Many people are surprised to hear that the vast majority of calico cats are female. Why is this? Is it possible for a calico cat to ever be male?

First off, what is a calico cat? A calico cat is not a breed of cat, it is a color pattern. To be called "calico", three colors must be present: black, white and orange. Variations of these colors include gray, cream and ginger. A "true" calico cat has large blocks of these three colors, a "tortoise shell" or "tortie" cat has a mix of these three colors (blended/swirled together more than distinct blocks of color).

Now that a calico cat has been defined as a cat with three colors, the question is: why are they nearly always female? The answer is in genetics. Coat color in cats is a sex-linked trait, a physical characteristic (coat color) related to gender. Female animals have two X chromosomes (XX), males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY). The genetic coding for displaying black or orange color is found on the X chromosome. The coding for white is a completely separate gene.

Since females have two X chromosomes, they are able to "display" two colors (orange and black, or variations thereof) and white; creating the 3-color calico mix. Since males have only one X chromosome, they can only be orange OR black. It is more complicated than simply having the color genes -- it is a complex process of dominant and non-dominate genes interacting on the X chromosomes, but that is the basis for coat color in calico cats.

Can a calico cat ever be male? Yes, in rare instances. In this situation, the cat has two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome (XXY). Cats with this chromosomal configuration are usually sterile (not able to breed). This is similar to a condition in humans called Klinefelter's syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klinefelter_syndrome, or XXY Syndrome.

Interesting calico cat fact: on October 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of the state of Maryland in the United States.

The coat pattern of calico cats does not define any breed, but occurs incidentally in cats that express a range of color patterns; accordingly the effect has no definitive historical background. However, the existence of patches in calico cats was traced to a certain degree by Neil Todd in a study determining the migration of domesticated cats along trade routes in Europe and Northern Africa.[5] The proportion of cats having the orange mutant gene found in calicoes was traced to the port cities along the Mediterranean in Greece, France, Spain and Italy, originating from Egypt.

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BarkBuddy - New App that Matches You with Adoptable Dogs in Your Area

Tails are wagging at Bark & Co, as we officially welcome a new paw-duct to the pack. BarkBuddy is the app that matches you with the fluffiest singles in your area.

Some of you may remember the Pup Up Shop adoption events we had in NYC and LA last summer. Our idea was pretty simple: bring cool people to a place where they want to hang out, insert puppies and the rest would take care of itself.

The crazy thing is that our idea worked. We learned that if we presented these pups in a way that showed their true value we could vastly increase the chance they’d get adopted. We also learned that running adoption events is hard work (lots of pee), so we gained a LOT more respect for of the amazing rescue organizations that spend their lives wrangling pups.

Then we did some math. 80 dogs adopted in four days, that’s 20 dogs a day. So even if we had a Pup Up every day for an entire year we’d only get 7,300 dogs out of shelters. Compare that to the over 2 million in shelters in the US alone and you start to get an idea of the size of the problem these rescues are facing.

So we went back to the drawing board and came up with something completely new. BarkBuddy is an app that turns your puppy-pic browsing obsession into a force for good. Now you can swipe through thousands of adoptable pup profiles in your area and let BarkBuddy play matchmaker.

Once you sniff out a perfect new pack member, BarkBuddy helps you get the tennis ball rolling by easily allowing you to contact rescue organization. Even if you’re not looking for a new buddy you can play matchmaker yourself by sharing adoptable pups with friends and family on Facebook.

Once you sniff out a perfect new pack member, BarkBuddy helps you get the tennis ball rolling by easily allowing you to contact rescue organization. Even if you’re not looking for a new buddy you can play matchmaker yourself by sharing adoptable pups with friends and family on Facebook.

Right now there are over 300,000 adoptable dogs on BarkBuddy and we’ve already had 8 million swipes in the week it’s been live. (!!!) We also want to give a huge and humbled thanks to Apple for choosing BarkBuddy as one of the top new apps. It’s incredible to feel any support when it comes to rescuing pups. So get the app https://itunes.apple.com/US/app/id875026451 and get swiping to save some dogs!

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Florida Boy Who Fought Alligator Demands Animal’s Tooth on a Necklace

As Florida Fish and Wildlife officers work to trap an alligator that they believe bit a 9-year-old boy Thursday near St. Cloud's Lakefront Park, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office has released audio from a 911 call made after the attack.

Wildlife officials say they believe they've located the area on East Lake Tohopekaliga where the gator is.

Investigators said James Barney, Jr. was riding his bicycle Thursday afternoon, when he stopped to take a dip in a no-swimming section of the lake.

"I thought someone was playing with me, and I don't know what happened," Barney recalled at a news conference Friday. "I reached down to feel it. I felt its jaw and its teeth. I didn't know what to do. So I immediately reacted and started hitting it. And I had enough strength to pry its jaw open."

Barney said he got the mouth open enough to slide out and then swim away.

Barney was airlifted to the hospital, where he was listed in good condition Friday.

"He's got about 30 different teeth marks of varying different degrees," said James Barney Sr., the boy's father.

Doctors found a tooth in one of the boy's wounds. Barney said he wanted to keep the tooth, but Florida Fish and Wildlife took the tooth to help find the gator.

Fish and Wildlife officials said there have been about two dozen unprovoked alligator attacks across Florida since 2011.

The surrounding area where the boy was bitten has been closed as wildlife officers work to capture the gator believed to be responsible for attacking the 9-year-old, as well as a second gator that also believed to be a threat.

Barney's father said his son swam in the lake often. But asked if he would consider swimming in that lake again, Barney said, "negative."


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Must Watch Video - A Toucan Landed on a Highway Traffic Camera, and Took a Video Selfie!

São Paulo, Brazil -A curious bird is ready for his close-up shot. A Toucan was taking a video selfie in Brazil.
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The Bird Landed on a highway traffic camera and couldn’t keep his beak out of the shot.

After his few seconds of fame the bird became restless and decided to fly away.






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Tips on Dog Park Etiquette

Most of these etiquette tips are no-brainers, but you’d be surprised at how often basic dog park rules are violated — if not ignored. Here they are for your consideration:

• No aggressive dogs! Don’t bring an aggressive, dominant dog to the park. Dogs who continually challenge everyone, hackles and all, don’t need to be there. Please.

• No toys! Toys can be a big trigger for fights. Leave them for more solo play or when you absolutely know none of the dogs interacting is a toy freak. And keep the treats to yourself until after the park. You don’t want your dog running with a rawhide in his mouth, anyway.

• No kids! Keep children out of the enclosure. Not all dogs respond well to high-pitched kid squeals and others fight over their attention. Dog parks are for dogs. Children should stay on the sidelines.

• Pay attention! Don’t hang on the cell phone, for example. It’s important to be able to correct your dog or respond in an emergency.

• Room to maneuver! Make sure the dogs aren’t packed in like sardines — especially if you have a little one. It only leads to the potential for adverse interactions and small dog tramplings.

• Pick up after your own! No one should have to remind you of that.

• Train and socialize before you go! The dog park is a place to refine skills, not to expose dogs to discipline and social encounters for the first time. Respect others and do your basic socializing and training before you expose others to your dogs’ not-quite-existent skills.

• Bring a dog...not a pack! If you’re bringing a dog or two, that’s cool. If you’ve got more than that, you should really be seeking help with them, just in case the unthinkable happens and a pack brawl breaks out.

• For the love of dog...don’t bring one that’s in heat! That should be obvious. Even neutered males and spayed females will react — many times adversely — to bitches in heat.

• Healthy dogs only, please! Yes, I’ve seen snifflers and coughers at dog parks. I’ve also seen just-purchased pups or just-adopted shelter dogs — a bad idea due to their recent exposure to high volumes of other potentially ill animals. Even if your dog has just been at the boarding kennel for a week, it’s only commonsensical — not to mention courteous — to keep your dog home for a few days (to make sure he didn’t pick something up) before exposing him to the world.

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Global March for Elephants and Rhinos - Please Join the Global March on October 4, 2014 to Call for an End to the Killing and a Ban on Ivory and Rhino Horn Before it's Too Late

On October 4th people in cities throughout the world will march as one voice to save Elephants and Rhinos. The countdown to their extinction has begun - unless action is taken now, we will lose these majestic, highly intelligent, and emotionally sentient creatures FOREVER.

Up to 50,000 Elephants are being killed every year so their tusks can be carved into ivory trinkets. A Rhino is slaughtered once every 9-11 hours for Rhino Horn. Their only hope for survival lies in an immediate end to the ivory and rhino horn trade (both "legal" and "illegal") and a meaningful opportunity to recover from decades of mass slaughter.

Please join the global march on Oct 4th to call for an end to the killing and a ban on ivory and rhino horn before it's too late.

To TAKE ACTION, click HERE!

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Tune In To The Pet Show With Dr. Katy at 11:00 a.m., Tomorrow, August 9th, on NewsChannel 8 to Catch WHS President and CEO, Lisa LaFontaine, Talk About Her Response To The "Why I'd Never Adopt a Shelter Dog Again" Piece By Erin Auerbach

Tune in to The Pet Show with Dr. Katy  TOMORROW at 11 a.m. on NewsChannel 8 to catch Washington Humane Society , President and CEO, Lisa LaFontaine, talk about her response to the "Why I'd never adopt a shelter dog again" piece by Erin Auerbach.

To read Lisa's response, click here: http://huff.to/1sMXxZy.

To read the original article, click here: http://wapo.st/UecEfQ.



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Believing an Owl is a Witch Superstitious Mexican Villagers Set It On Fire - The Owl Amazingly Survived

This shocking video uploaded onto social media in Mexico shows how superstitious villagers caught an owl and set it on fire believing it to be a witch.

And when the owl amazingly survived being burned alive, it is then interrogated by women who demanded to know what it's human name is, and that it turns itself back into a woman if it wants to be freed.

The images show that despite its feathers being burnt and the ground around the cage it is imprisoned in is scorched, the terrified owl is still alive and screeching at its captors.

But they take this as proof that the bird is really a witch, and its shrieks as the sound that it does not like the fact that its true identity has been discovered.

The incident happened at in the town of Durango, in the north-central Mexican state of the same name, a rural area which like many places in the country includes the superstition that some women are witches that have the power to turn into animals.

During the inquisition of the burnt owl, the women repeatedly ask the owl to identify itself and one stage they are heard reading sections of the Bible in the belief that this will force the owl to turn back to a woman. They also recount stories of how the owl had been seen looking through the window at the home of one, and how another claimed that the owl had tried to curse her.

The women apparently decided to upload the video to show how they had captured the witch but it was widely condemned by online commentators who urged authorities to track them down and punish them as a warning to other superstitious people to avoid such foolish beliefs.

One user wrote: "This is just an animal inside a cage and anything would scream if it was threatened by these women in this way." Another added: "This is just superstitious nonsense and I really wish that authorities could finally do something treat these people like the criminals they are."

The horrific scene was captured on video and later uploaded to social media by the villagers.

Footage shows the burnt owl screeching at its captors as it flaps around inside the cage - just seconds after being set alight by the women.

WARNING: Graphic Content

Shocking: This owl was interrogated by superstitious Mexican villagers after being set alight for 'being a witch.'

Under interrogation: The terrified animal was filmed being questioned by its captors from inside a scorched cage in the city of Durango, north-west Mexico, with its feathers badly charred and its legs bound with rope.

Frightened: Believing it to be a witch, the female villagers can be heard ordering the owl to reveal its human name and turn itself back into a woman if it wants to be freed. Above, the owl looks at its captors from the cage.

Burnt alive: The horrific scene was captured on video and later uploaded by the women to social media.

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